The new cultivar is the product of an induced mutation. Aureo M was discovered as a single plant by Leo van Zanten in March 2005 in a cultivated area of Oxnard, Calif. in a greenhouse. Two thousand unrooted cuttings from Iresine herbstii brilliantissima were irradiated with gamma rays at a dose of 25 Gy. The treated cuttings were planted for rooting and growing. Subsequent selection among the population resulted in the discovery as a single plant of this new variety.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘AUREO M’ by terminal cuttings was performed in Oxnard, Calif. and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type on successive generations.